A new long-leaved species of Asplundia (Cyclanthaceae) from Colombia

Abstract

A new species of Asplundia from the Cordillera Central in Colombia is described and illustrated. Asplundia callejasii is placed in A. subg. Asplundia, based on the morphology of the staminate flowers. The most distinctive characteristic of A. callejasii is its long leaves, with the blade unicostate, oblanceolate, shallowly divided, and very lustrous, with the plicate nerves forming roughly 45° angles with the midrib. These features give it a unique aspect that sets it apart from any other species within the family.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the staff at the COL, HUA, JAUM, and MEDEL herbaria for access to their collections during the course of this study, and Fabián A. Michelangeli (NY) for helpful comments on a previous version of the manuscript and English language editing. Financial support was generously provided by Corporación Autónoma Regional del Centro de Antioquia (CORANTIOQUIA). Thanks to Juliana Cardona, Juan Lázaro Toro, César Herrera, Estella Suárez, and Dairon Preciado for their company and help during fieldwork, and John Colorado for the illustration. For faciliting access to live specimens of Cyclanthaceae, we are grateful to the staff of Jardín Botánico Joaquín Antonio Uribe, Medellín and Arturo Aristizabal Echeverri owner of the “Passiflora” plant nursery. The first author would like to express his sincere gratitude to Prof. Ricardo Callejas Posada (Universidad de Antioquia) for the continued support of his M.Sc. thesis, patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. The second author is thankful to “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (Capes) for a Ph.D. scholarship grant.